Dr. Vieira fiddled with the machine behind me while Jordyn gnawed on a nail. A nervous energy bounced off her, and whatever was bothering her was making me jittery. My trust factor was dwindling by the minute. I couldn’t handle any more betrayal—or anything, for that matter. Pregnant? I couldn’t be.
“Layla, I want you to take it easy. You’ve been through a lot,” Dr. Vieira said. “And now that you’re expecting, your body will be changing by the minute. So you need to rest.”
Several swear words blared in my head as I gritted my teeth, held back tears, and tried like hell to breathe. It was no use. The heart monitor was singing. “I’m dreaming. I have to be.” I blinked several times. But each time I oriented my vision, the scene was still the same.
Dr. Vieira jotted notes on a small pad he’d pulled out of his lab coat. Jordyn studied me as though she had a million questions.
“What’s wrong, sis?” I asked.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how things went to shit in a matter of hours. How come Jack didn’t tell us about our mom? Or Dad dating a vampire? Why did Rianne flip her humanity switch to something evil? And now, you’re pregnant.”
I guessed that was the reason she looked like crap. “Who was working with Rianne and Noah?” Not that it mattered. But I wanted to add him to my list of people to strangle. “Jack?”
“I’ll let you two talk,” Dr. Vieira said. “I’ll be back to check on you later.”
“Wait,” I called to Doc as he was halfway to the door.
“I’ll have my lab tech bring up a pregnancy test,” he said.
“Thank you, but will I need blood for the next nine months?” I asked.
He returned to my bedside, his soft brown eyes flashing with concern. “It’s hard to say. I haven’t dealt with an expecting mom who required blood for the baby. I would caution you, though. If you have a desire for blood, I suggest Sam’s. The processed kind we drink has additives in it that won’t be healthy for the baby.”
I tried to laugh but made a weird sound instead. We were talking about blood as a food source, which was so wrong, at least for me as a human. “Am I supposed to cart Sam around with me all the time?” I snorted.
Jordyn giggled.
Dr. Vieira wore a serious expression. “I always keep a small supply of all the SEAL team’s blood on hand for emergencies. But I’ll be sure to have more of Sam’s. In the meantime, as long as you two are physically together, you’ll be fine.” He gave me a warm smile before he left.
I swallowed just thinking about drinking from Sam. There was something erotic about the act.
Once Jordyn and I were alone, she shut the door before sinking into the chair.
We locked eyes and didn’t say a word for several minutes.
“Talk to me. What happened after I passed out?” I asked.
She tucked her legs underneath her and resumed gnawing on her nail. “It was chaos. Sam was so enraged. I’d never seen Brodi and Rianne so scared. Noah, on the other hand, was ready to butt heads with Sam. Moron, if you ask me.”
Noah had the same brashness as Jack. Like father, like son.
She held her nail between her teeth. “After you collapsed, Sam tore his restraints off and almost attacked Brodi, but Conrad stopped him. Sam’s elemental powers were out of control. Fire everywhere. The earth shook and split and…” She shuddered. “The only thing that stopped Sam from going on a killing spree was you. You came to for a second and called his name.”
“And Rianne?” I asked.
She shrugged, tears in her eyes. “She took off. After Sam whisked you away to the local medical center in Big Timber, I tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. I’ve been trying for the last four days. Nothing.” She swiped at a tear.
I was ready to bawl my eyes out with her, and not only because of Rianne. It was everything.
She picked at something on her sock and blew out a breath. “I think we’re living in hell.” A tear slipped down her cheek. “Carly called me about that position at her company, Intech. They want to interview me.”
“Go. See what it’s all about. You can still talk to Steven at some point.”
“I can’t leave you,” she cried.
“It’s just an interview. Right?”
She nodded. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I’ll be fine, and I’m not going anywhere.” I wanted to talk to Sawyer to see if he could help with finding Kendra. I believed she might be the key, since my dad was trying to find proof of what my mom had told him about her family. “I want you to be happy, Jordyn.”
She sniffled. “Honestly, I wouldn’t even have considered the job, but after what Rianne has done, I don’t know. It might be good for me, at least for now.” She let go of my hand and sat back.
“Go! Meet with Intech. I’m going to see if I can find something about our mom or Kendra. I think the vampires here can help. We need answers.” I was sure I wouldn’t find them right away. If my dad couldn’t find any proof in the two years after my mom passed, I was in for a long ride. Hell, Jack hadn’t been able to find Kendra, either, so maybe she was dead. Above all else, I needed a distraction from Rianne and what she’d done and my impending pregnancy. “So did Carly say when you would interview?”
She rubbed her lips together. “I need to call her.”
“Say hi for me.” I’d always liked Carly, a petite woman with a lot of fire in her attitude. She knew how to put Jack Jr. in his place.
She picked at something on her jeans. “I will. I might still chat with Steven if he’s taking visitors.”
I adjusted my body so I was sitting up a little more. “Jordyn, let that go for now. Focus on this interview. Speaking of which, I thought of something. With Roman on the loose, it might be dangerous for you to go alone. Maybe we can ask Webb for a bodyguard for you? Or I can come with you.”
She smiled. “I doubt Sam is about to let you out of his sight. That man has it bad for you. And you need to rest. Not to mention, if Roman kidnaps anyone, it will be you. Remember, he held me hostage to force you to do something for him. This time, I’m sure his plan is to hurt Sam where it counts, and that’s you.”
I wasn’t blind. I knew Sam had feelings for me. But I wasn’t ready to deal with those emotions from him or how I felt about the sexy vamp, either.
“Remind me again what Intech does,” I said, wanting to think of anything but where I was or my own fucked-up situation.
“They develop computer programs for the human government sector,” she said.
“Right up your alley,” I replied. She’d always been great with computers. She’d gotten hooked when she’d taken a coding class in high school. “Life is changing by the minute, huh?” I muttered.
“Understatement of the century,” she replied.
I clutched my stomach. “Jordyn, you can’t tell Rianne I’m pregnant.”
She sighed. “I know, and you know I won’t.”
Even though I believed her, in the heat of a moment, anyone was capable of slipping.